Exposure to extreme heat increases both chronic and acute malnutrition among infants and young children in low-income countries – threatening to reverse decades of progress, Cornell research finds.
Exposure to extreme heat increases both chronic and acute malnutrition among infants and young children in low-income countries – threatening to reverse decades of progress, Cornell research finds.
Linking survey and geocoded weather data over more than 20 years, a study of more than 32,000 West African children ages 3-36 months found that average heat exposure had increased the prevalence of stunted growth from chronic malnutrition by 12%, and of low weight from acute malnutrition by 29%.
The researchers estimate that if the average global temperature rises 2 degrees Celsius – which scientists warn is likely without significant reductions in carbon emissions – the average effect of heat exposure on stunting would nearly double, erasing gains recorded during the study period (1993 to 2014).
Read more at: Cornell University
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